Opinion: U.S. has to stand strong against North Korea

by Boris Epshteyn, Chief Political Analyst

In this photo released by Japan Air Self Defense Force, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, top, fly with a Japan Air Self Defense Force F-2 fighter jet over Japan's southern island of Kyushu, just south of the Korean Peninsula, during a Japan-U.S. joint exercise Sunday, July 30, 2017. (Japan Air Self Defense Force via AP)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.

The Trump administration has said that all options are on the table to deal with North Korean aggression. Let’s dig deeper.

The communist regime in North Korea continues to be propped up by China. President Trump has taken a hard line with China, both in meetings and publicly, pressuring them to exert control over their client state.

The U.S. is also calling on the United Nations to institute harsher sanctions against North Korea itself. Sanctions against North Korea have not worked so far. The country is already in economic ruins. Kim Jong Un, like his father before him, does not rule by feeding his people or making their lives better.

The North Korean regime appeals to its citizens’ nationalism by showing off military strength and oppresses them to drive the point home. Kim Jong Un is willing to starve his own people at the expense of bolstering military might.

The U.S. has shown force in response to the latest tests. Two supersonic B-1B bombers flew over the Korean peninsula over the weekend and a missile defense system was successfully tested in Alaska.

The bottom line is that this administration should not allow North Korea to destabilize Asia and the world. If the economic and diplomatic channels fail, pre-emptive military action has to be on the table in order to put North Korea, and its maniacal leader, in its place.